Thursday, August 28, 2003

Texas Hold 'Em is a seven card poker game with simple rules that a beginner can easily learn and begin to play immediately. In spite of the simplicity, it is a fast and complex game that takes skill and practice to master. No wonder it has become one of the most popular forms of poker played today.

Texas Hold 'Em uses a disc called a dealer button to indicate where the cards are to be dealt. Prior to the deal, the two players to the left of the button place live bets called the small and large blinds. It's called blind because it's made prior to seeing any cards. It's called live because it counts as part of any further bets in the first betting round.

The play begins with two cards dealt face-down to each player. Action starts with a betting round beginning with the player to the left of the blind bets and continuing clockwise around the table. Players may bet, check, raise, or fold in turn. The large blind has the privilege of last action and may check or raise the bet.

Three community cards are then dealt face up in the center of the table and another betting round takes place beginning with the player to the left of the dealer button. Another card is dealt face up followed by a round of betting. The fifth and last card is dealt face up and a final round of betting takes place.

Players remaining in the hand will then show their cards and the winning poker hand will be awarded the pot. Any combination of hole cards and community cards may be used to make the best five-card poker hand.

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Here's a bit:"In an era when television is dominated by made-up competitions pitting brainless pretty people against other brainless pretty people — Fear Factor, Survivor, etc.--it is the brilliant uglies of the World Series who have provided some of the best human drama of the summer. On every episode, intelligence is rewarded, hubris is punished, millions of dollars change hands, and luck makes a cameo. Perhaps most shocking of all, people are watching."

My "source" told me that "Mr. J. Lo" dropped $40,000 playing Blackjack at Foxwoods! That's before he went to the Poker Room and they roped off Table 46 for a $50-$50 Pot Limit Hold'em game, to keep the "rail hangers" back. When one guy did not have enough money for the buy-in for the game (He only had $2,000)... the story goes that Affleck tossed him $6,000 to play and sit. Later in the game that same guy was up $20,000. He took $6,000 in chips and put them in front of Affleck. That's when Affleck said something like, "Keep it. Don't worry about it."

And in case you were wondering, J. Lo was not "in da house". Ben frequents the $100-200 tables at the Commerce Casino in southern California. Is he a player? Affleck played loose and made a couple of flush draws.

Sunday, August 24, 2003

Poker Face

Here is an excerpt from Katy Lederer's novel Poker Face:

“This was as close as the family ever got, and so, even though the lot of us were violently competitive (if Annie lost a game, she’d throw cards; and if Howard lost, he’d glare as if you’d insulted his deepest, most delicate part, then slink around the kitchen table like a very proud cat), the atmosphere would seem to me incomparably congenial. Somewhere along the line I’d gotten it into my head that the playing of games was the same thing as civility and that friendly competition was the closest thing to love we’d ever know.”

Now check out: Book Review: Katy Lederer's Poker Face, written by Greg Dinkin and it appears in the current issue of Card Player Magazine. From what I read from the review and the excerpt, the book seems really good. Katy Lederer is the youngest sister of professional poker players Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, whom were both featured on ESPN's coverage of the 2003 World Series of Poker.

Here's a bit of the book review: "While I don’t know Howard Lederer and Annie Duke well, like most poker players, I know enough about them to want to know more. Aside from playing at the highest limits in cash games and having impressive tournament results, their very nature makes them compelling characters. Howard’s erudite style, critiquing hands and writing voluminous essays on RGP, has brought his poker intellect to the masses. Readers will be fascinated to learn about Howard as a youngster, including his fiercely competitive chess matches with his dad, his futile but thoughtful efforts to curb his mother’s drinking, and his time in New York as a homeless late teen. Annie’s character as a child isn’t as well developed in the book as her older brother’s, but you still get a glimpse of how the middle child in the Lederer family evolved into an aggressive poker player who never had any problem blending in with the boys — and taking their money.

Ultimately, this is a book about family. The author’s father, Richard Lederer, spend most of his adult life teaching English at an old-money prep school in New Hampshire called St. Paul’s. The middle-class family lived on campus, which raised issues for the kids of blending in with their more snobbish peers. When Katy started high school and began to live in the school’s student dorms, she got a taste of New England old money. From debutante balls at the Waldorf-Astoria to chronic anorexia and bulimia, she does an amazing job of taking the reader inside the living quarters at St. Paul’s and showing how it isn’t always easy for young women who seemingly have all the advantages in life."

Saturday, August 23, 2003

Act Two Tournament... the Skinny

There's a famous line from Doyle Brunson, "If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour... then you're the sucker."

Act Two is single table (10 man) No Limit Hold'em tournament. The buy in is $115 and the winner gets a coupon for the next scheduled Act Three tournament (worth $1,060). When I sat down to the table to play, I was nervous because I felt I was outmatched. The majority of the ten players were regulars at Foxwoods. They knew each other and knew the dealers by their first names. I was in trouble and I knew I needed to do two things.

1. Play only solid hands (A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K, J-J, and A-Q)
2. When I do play, to play aggressive and put the other players in the pot on the defensive.

I knew only one other player at the table. I met him a couple of hours earlier at the same table Senor and I played $2-4. He was a solid player and he told me he won an Act One tournament, so I made him for a decent player. I drew Seat 2.

The table breakdown:
Seat 1: Mid-40s guy, I figured he was an ex-cop or state trooper.
Seat 2: Me
Seat 3: Old guy in his 60s. His tattoos on his arms were older than me.
Seat 4: Middle-aged "ethnic" guy
Seat 5: "The lawyer" in his late 30s
Seat 6: Young guy from Omaha, Nebraska (his second Act Two of the day)
Seat 7: Late 20s glasses
Seat 8: Guy from North Carolina I played with
Seat 9: "Steve" mid 30s
Seat 10: Friend of the guy from NC, late 20s. He wore sunglasses.

Here's how the blinds went (little blind-big blind). Each level was 15 minutes long.

Everyone got $2,000 in chips. I didn't play anything the first few hands. The guy in Seat 7 won a couple of big pots with A-K and A-Q. The lawyer won a few pots when he bet $300 a couple of times. And the ethnic guy seemed to irk the lawyer. He sat in front of him, so he'd raise before the pot before action got to the lawyer.

Before the tenth hand I caught pocket Aces. Since I raised $300 pre-flop and a couple of people called. The flop came out all rags, and I bet heavily. Everyone folded and I won a rare pot with A-A.

A couple of hands later I got A-10 suited. I called the pre-flop raise of $300 from the ethnic guy. I flopped the nut flush. I decided to slow play the guy. I bet $500 and he called. I did the same on the turn. On the river a fourth club fell (I still had the nut flush) and I went all-in. He folded. And I took the majority of his stack. I now held the chip lead with over $3,600.

The first guy who got busted was the ethnic guy. When he left the lawyer was pumped. He was getting bullied all night by him. The kid from Omaha was next to fall before the guy with glasses in Seat 7 got busted after he went all in with K-J.

The next few levels I got decent cards. I fell into a rush of pocket pairs. 3-3, 4-4,7-7, 9-9... and I didn't win any pots with those cards. I lost some of my stack playing those hands. I threw away A-4 one time when there was a medium sized bet in front of me. I didn't feel too good about that hand. Unluckily for me, I would have flopped the Wheel with 5-2-3. And the pot was huge too!

The cop next to me was bluffing a lot. I watched him carefully. He went all-in a couple of times and would often try to steal small pots where everyone checked. He was involved in one of the crazier hands all night. There was plenty of action with a couple of raises pre-flop. I mucked my hand and the flop came out 4-A-4. Only the lawyer and the cop stayed in. Next fell a Jack on the turn, the on the river another 4 fell for 4-A-4-J-4. The lawyer went all in and the cop called him. The lawyer turned over A-10 suited for a full house 4s over Aces. The cop just turned over one of his cards... a 4! The cop flopped trips, then got four of a kind on the river. The lawyer was "wicked pissed". He tossed his cards up in the air over the dealer's head. He definitely wasn't bluffing that time.

By Level 4 ($100-200 blinds) half the table had been busted. Seats 1,2,3 (the cop, me, and the old guy) and Seats 8,9,10 (the NC guys and "Steve") only remained. Most of the chips were on the far end of the table (Seats 8-10) and I had the second shortest stack.

In Level 5 I got A-9 off suit. I called a $400 bet. An Ace fell on the flop. I had a pair with a medium kicker. The cop moved all in. I made him for either Aces or a high pair like Kings or Queens. I was just hoping I had a better kicker if he had an Ace. Since he was right next to me, I picked up on how he played his hands. I knew he had a good hand, but I knew he didn't have the best hand. He was trying to intimidate me. I could do two things:

1. Fold if I think he's got me beat.
2. Call his "all-in" if I think he's trying to steal the pot with a semi-bluff.

I had more chips than he did so I called his bet of $2,000. We turned over our cards and he held A-3. I had a better kicker. He was asking the dealer for a 3 on the turn and river. Nothing fell that could help him, and I won the pot (about $5,800) after he went all-in. I knocked out my first player in this tourney.

By Level 6, the old guy next to me was gone and "Steve" looked good as the chip leader. When there was three people remaining I lost a lot of chips on blinds, since the game was short-handed and the action went around quick. I got K-J and I called Seat 10's "all-in" betwhen the flop was J-7-5. He held Q-J. Nothing on the turn or the river helped him. I made it to teh last two guys. I held $8,000 in chips. Steve had $12,000.

It was now Level 7 and the blinds were $600-$1200. You know the rest of the story how I got busted with the infamous A-9 suited against his K-9 off suit. After the flop, with only thre eouts that could help him, I had 82% of winning the hand with trips and an Ace kicker. Steve was an underdog at 7 to 1. Again, this was an ideal situation for me. Everyone I know would have done the move I made. I went all-in against the chip leader. Alas, the King fell on the turn, and my tournament was seconds away from being over.

I now know what it felt like to be Phil Ivey (9-9) when Chris Moneymaker (A-Q) knocked him out at the 2003 World Series. Ivey had a full house Nines over Queens to Moneymaker's three Queens. Until Moneymaker caught an Ace on the river to give him a ful house Queens over Aces. Ivey was stunned and when that happens you really don't know what to do or say. I just kept shaking my head. Another bad beat, probably the worst of my young career. The frustrating thing was that I didn't lose because I made a bad play. I lost to the percentages. Shit happens.

Jerry Engel wrote: "I believe that it works - but don't you think the good players know that and use it to their advantage? You would look great is those old 80s big black sunglasses like that Russian dude (Ralph Perry) who made it to the final table last year (at the 2002 World Series) and came in fourth or something? Maybe even a toothpick? You have to wear a Yankees shirt/jersey so thats how people will remember who you are - the guy in the Yankees Jersey, then just the Yankee gambler! And you will make it to a TV table... maybe not this year or next, but I see it in your future."

Jerry Engel wrote: "Awesome - that story rocks - Sounds like you did really good and have built some confidence going forward. And despite your rebuff of validation from fellow players - you dug it and that also builds your confidence, which I am sure, somewhere in those books you are reading, is a key component to be a good card player. The real question is, what the fuck was Senor doing all this time???"

Jay Sheer wrote: "Yo congrats on the tournament man, that's awesome you were down to the final two. When I played (a tourney) at Mohegan Sun I got down to the final three tables and I thought that was pretty good. Nice job man!"

Friday, August 22, 2003

Late Afternoon $2-4 Hold'em Game at Foxwoods

I'm recaping the highlights of my four or five hour long run of $2-4 Hold'em with Senor on Wednesday. We drove in separate cars to Foxwoods from Mohegan Sun. I got there about ten minutes faster. I dunno how that happened! But I got to sit down at a table before he did. Five minutes after he arrived two spots opened at my table. Not only did I get to play twice in a row with Senor at my table, but he got to sit right next to me in Seat 1. Over the next five hours I had some of the best fun at one the most liveliest poker tables I ever played at.

There was a kid next to me that played basketball at some college in New Hampshire. He was down to his last $4 and went all-in on his blind. He doubled up, and eventually had a nice run and had a stack of chips worth $80. Not bad at all. His only problem was that he drank the entire time. He kept ordering drink after drink. The drunker he got, the funnier his comments were. There was an old guy next to him and he kept Senor and I cracking up the entire time (I noticed he was drinking scotch the entire time).

I bought in for $100 and when I left to play in the Act Two tourney, I was up about $50 plus. The most I was up all night was $100. But I played kind of loose in the late position. And I raised a lot when I had decent cards and I knew other players were drawing straights or flushes. If they are going to beat my high pair or my two pair, then shit... they are going to have to pay to get that card. My new philosophy was No free cards, especially on Fourth Street (the turn). But that cost me a couple of times.

I won some medium sized pots. I flopped top two pair a couple of times and won the pot both times. I won a small pot with pocket Kings. I lost a big pot with A-K suited and the guy who won flopped a straight. Senor lost a huge pot that busted his stack when he bet into a higher straight. The guy who won held A-Q and Senor held Q-10 when the community cards were K-J-10-9-2.

We signed up for an Act One and Act Two tourneys. I went up to check on our names (which they write on a board) and saw they were erased. The manager said that he called our names for an Act One, but I swear that we didn't hear them. We signed up again and realized that we would be the next to be called for an Act Two. Senor left to get food and play Roulette. They calle dour names and I tried to call him. I got to the Act Two table and there were two spots left. By the time Senor got there, it was too late. The empty seat had been taken.

Thursday, August 21, 2003

My Last Visit to the Poker Room at the Mohegan Sun

The poker room at Mohegan Sun was crowded for a Wednesday afternoon at 1:00 PM. But enough people were leaving tables at a steady pace that the floor manager called names every few minutes. After we waited ten minutes Senor and I sat down at a new $1-5 Seven Card Stud game that had open seating. I played a couple of hands, but they called my name for a $3-6 Hold’em seat. A couple of hands later, Senor joined me... at the same table! When it’s a full house it’s rare that the same table has openings at the same time.

The game was loose and I lost a couple of close hands. I bluffed once, something you should never do in limit Hold’em. I had nothing, probably 7-8 or 8-9 (since I started reading Doyle Brunson’s Super System, I decided to play connecting middle cards like 7-8, 8-9, 9-10, and sometimes a 7-9 if there are no raises pre-flop, and I’m in the late position. The reason is sometimes 8 and 9 fall on the flop all the time it seems, and on occasion you can pick up a belly-buster straight.) Anyway, the flop came A-A-10, and I raised. The table made me for at least one Ace. The turn came an Ace (A-A-10-A) and the table looked at me like a guy who just nailed four aces. I raised and one guy called me to the river. I couldn’t believe he stayed in. Well it was the right move, because I had nothing but 3 Aces and the old guy had a full house. I seem to lose a lot of cash when I play loose in low limit games.

There was some drama involving the dealer and one player. The just before the river card, the dealer accidentally exposed one card in the deck, the Q of Hearts, which would have been the river card. If that happens, he must show it to the entire table, then place it back in the deck and re-shuffle. Well one guy had A-Q and it was a strong flop. The other guy that stayed in had a better hand and won the pot after the deal had to re-shuffle with the exposed Q in the deck. The guy with A-Q was wicked pissed and yelled at the dealer. I felt sorry for the young dealer. Shit happens. Especially when you deal hundreds and thousands of hands. Once in Atlantic City the same exact situation happened when Senor and played $3-6 at the Taj Mahal. The dealer fucked up and exposed a Q. He reshuffled and he dealt the same Q! What are the odds in that? Insane, huh? Any rate, I felt bad for the dealer, and sympathized with the player. I guess if the floor manager was called over to settle the dispute, he would have told the dealer to do exactly what he did… reshuffle with the exposed card.

Anyway, a few hands later the same dealer was involved in more drama. He almost called the pot over and declared a winner before the final river card. He tossed the remaining cards next to the burned cards. The table caught his mistake right away, and the guy who lost with the A-Q before gave the guy a hard time.

Then we had the most insane poker dealer I ever met. He was a young bald guy with pure energy. He sat down and was “on”. Senor asked if he could keep up that high level of fun, positive, energy… and he said, “Of course, all night long.” He loosened up the table for sure. Everyone was joking and laughing, and he kidded around with everyone. Taunting them to bet every time. More players seemed to stay in because of his happy attitude. He told us about his goal of dealing twenty hands in 30 minutes. At one point he bragged to another dealer that he got 28 hands in a half hour. That’s excellent for limit Hold’em games. He was a fast but accurate dealer. No misdeals when he was at the table.

I bought in for $100, and lost $95. I had one $5 chip left and cashed it out. Mohegan Sun cancelled their weekly tournaments since they were shutting down, there was no need for them to have any. I knew Foxwoods was close by and they had a Stud Tournament at 7 PM, plus random satellites (Act One & Two) for the World Poker Finals. So we bailed.

I played in a No Limit Tournament at Foxwoods and came in second place! I won... nothing. It cost me $115 to enter.

Well the good news is that Senor and I played at not one, but two different casinos yesterday. We started off at Mohegan Sun and played Seven Card Stud ($1-$5) and $3-6 Hold'em for a couple of hours (we both lost around $200 combined). I lost a couple of close hands. Since the Mohegan Sun poker room is closing in two weeks, management decided that they would no longer hold daily tournaments at 7PM. With that information, I told Senor that we should drive to Foxwoods and play there, since it was only 15 minutes away.

Long story short, I played in a World Poker Finals Act Two Satellite Tournament. The buy in was $115 and the winner was awarded a $1,060 Coupon for an Act Three Tournament. If you win the Act Three Tournament you get a $10,000 seat at the World Poker Finals in November, which will be televised on the World Poker Tour coverage on the Travel Channel. Basically I needed to win an Act Two and then an Act Three... in order to get a shot at over $1 Million purse and the chance to play with the big boys like Howard Lederer (last year's winner with over $320,000), Phil Ivey, Layne Flack, and Phil Hellmuth.

Alas, I got great cards but I only came in second place. And only first place gets a prize (a seat at an Act Three Tournament). The tournament was about two and a half hours long. There are ten players with $2,000 in tournament chips (not real money). The goal is to be the last guy with all the chips! Simple, huh?

I started out slow, but won two quick pots with Pocket Aces and Ace-10 of spades (I flopped the nut flush) and was the chip leader at one point with $3,600 in chips. Then I didn't get much in the middle levels of play. With six players remaining, I knocked out the guy next to me. He put his chips "all-in" with an A-3. I played right back at him and called him, "I'm all in!" I busted him with my A-9. He was pissed.

I know what you are thinking... "How did you lose $8,000?"

I made it to the end, surviving until I was one of the last two players. "Steve" held almost $12,000 in chips and I had about $8,000. It was 11 pm and the blinds (forced betting) were $600 and $1200! (Again this is not real money, and realize I normally play low limit games like $2-4 or $3-6!) I had the little blind and called $600 more. I held A-9 of spades, a better than average hand, but playing heads-up, it's a great hand!! The flop came out... 9-9-8! I just flopped a set (trips) of 9s! I bet $1,200. Steve raised me $1,200 and then I made the toughest decision of my younger poker career. I went "all in". Steve called me and the pot was over $16,000! Steve turned over his cards... K-9. He was shocked to see that I held A-9 suited. Statistically speaking, I was the favorite to win the hand. I made a textbook play and I was winning the pot after the flop. However, the turn card came and it was a King! I was stunned. Steve made a full house with Nines and Kings. I was fucked! I was now a huge underdog, with only an Ace that could save me. Alas, the river card came, and it was a Seven. I lost all my chips and finished in second place. Steve was shocked at the results. He thought he was fucked. He should have been. If I won, I would have been in perfect position to win the entire tournament. I would have had $16,000 in chips, four times as much as Steve's $4,000. With the blinds at $1,200, I would have bullied him with raises and re-raises until I got all his chips. I blew it. I got fucked on the turn!!

Steve and the other players shook my hand and complimented me on my play. Steve said I only showed two or three hands all night (a sign that you are a strong player... that other players fold to you, because they think/know you have a better hand). I wasn't looking for any validtation from my fellow cards players. I know I'm a good player (just inexperienced). I lost on a bad beat. Every poker pro would salivate over the position I was in, to double up on chips against the chip leader. They would have pushed it all in with an A-9, so I know that I made the right play. But sometimes in life and in Texas Hold'em... the right play is not always the winning play.

Fuck! I lost $8,000 and a $16,000 pot! Just writing about this pisses me off! I felt good about my overall play, I made it to second place... I thought if I won, I would have fucking rocked that Act Three Tournament if I got that shot.

I'll be back to play in at least two or three more Act Twos... World Poker Finals are in November. I'll try again in Septmeber, October, and in early November.

Anyway, this was my quick bad beat tale. I'll get into more logistics later. Visit the Tao of Poker later tonight for the sordid deatils of my bad beat!

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

No Limit at Mohegan Sun

I am leaving soon to drive up to the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT. I'm meeting Senor there and we hope to play a few hours of $3-6 Hold'em before we register to play in the weekly No Limit Tournament at 7 PM. I think it's $50 entry-fee. I hope I can make it to the final table. Since the Mohegan Sun is closing their poker room, this will be the last time I'll be playing cards there. I didn't sleep too well last night. I guess I had a lot on my mind. To prep for the no limit tourney, I glanced at David Sklansky's book on tournaments, and I had been religiously reading Doyle Brunson's Super System the last week or so since I bought it on sale downtown. I hope some of Doyle's words can help me out when I hit a tough spot. I can't wait until I say, "I'm all in!"

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

World Series of Poker

ESPN will be airing the final episode (out of seven hours of coverage) of the 2003 World Series of Poker tonight at 9 PM EST. Check your local listings for more details. Tonight you'll find out how Chris Moneymaker wins the $2.5 Million first prize during the WSoP last May.

I am one of the few people who does not have the Travel Channel included in my cable package! Fuck Cablevision. Alas, I am unable to watch the World Poker Tour every Wednesday nights! So the ESPN coverage is the only poker I have found on TV.

Monday, August 18, 2003

Q - What is a Satellite?A: A Satellite poker tournament is a tournament that is usually a single table game that a player buys into to win a seat in a bigger tournament. For example, a player will pay $65 to buy into a satellite tournament. If the player wins, they win a voucher worth $500 that can be used to buy into the $500 tournament.

Q - What is a Super Satellite?A: Super Satellite is a multi-table tournament with the same outcome as the single table Satellite. A player will pay $120 to buy into a Super Satellite Tournament. The winner receives a voucher for the $5,000 tournament. There are multiple winners in the Super Satellite tournaments. Borgata expects to award 9 or more vouchers during the Super Satellites.

This was listed as Doyle's Brunson's Bio... "Doyle Brunson quite literally wrote the book on poker. His "Super System" is the tome many other pros point to as the book that was most influential to them. Doyle was the first player ever to win $1,000,000 in a tournament. He recently lost 100 lbs. on a million dollar bet with a pool of friends."

Sunday, August 17, 2003

Borgata Poker Open

The Borgata is the newest casino to open in Atlantic City, NJ in several years. It will be featured as one of the stops for the 2003-2004 World Poker Tour. I not been there yet. I heard they have some decent live poker games. My mother went to the Borgata a couple of weeks ago (she plays slots only) and said it's very nice, but nothing special.

Satellite Tourney Info for the Borgata Poker Open is available. My interest has peaked! The satellites are scheduled for all of September... $65 entry fee for the $500 (buy-in) No Limit & Limit Hold'em events. And there is a super-satellite with an $120 entry fee for the $5000 No Limit Hold'em event on Sept. 20, which will be televised on TV, as are all the major events on the WPT.

Here's a bit: "I didn't feel anything. I was in shock. I am sure that at that moment, every brain chemical responsible for aggression, focus, and feeling good drained out of my body. After playing for four days, you almost don't know what to do after you've been eliminated. I stumbled over to the ESPN interview area. I couldn't tell you what I said. I collected my prize money and headed up to my room at the Horseshoe. I cleared everything out, as my elimination slowly sunk in."

I decided to start a new blog site specifically geared towards poker and my poker play. I wanted to move the majority of my poker blogging off the Tao of Pauly and onto the Tao of Poker because the majority of the free world hasn't caught the poker bug like the rest of the gambling world. The average blog reader finds my gambling trials and above average poker speak very boring! Too bad.

Texas Hold'em poker is probably the most difficult, yet the most exhilirating card game out there. I know there are fanatics who share my same disposition and now there's a site for them to visit. Combined with the knowlegde that there are not too many poker blogs out there... I decided to start my own. 100% Poker speak... 100% of the time! So sit back, enjoy, and feel free to contribute relevant links, great stories, tournament information... anytime!